Championing the
Changemakers

I am the Moderator of the 2023 Strategic Council and the call for nominations for the 2024-2026 Strategic Council at-large representatives has just been released.  I would encourage any interested parties to apply for this position.

The Strategic Council’s purpose is to develop ideas to inform future needs and opportunities for the... Read more

Hi Fellow Design Professionals: It would be great if you could participate in this important research on the status of professionals addressing extreme heat.

Thanks.

MAL

Planning for Extreme Heat Survey

Our research team from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University is studying how planning... Read more

Hi SDLers: See the great opportunity to weigh in on the 5th National Climate Assessment at a series of workshops in early 2022. 

Register here:

https://www.globalchange.gov/content/nca5-engagement-workshops?utm_sourc...

Hope all are staying well.

Mary Ann

They say that Louisianans are often late to the party but enjoy catching up.  The state, which had been stuck on ASHRAE 90.1-2007 (commercial) and IECC 2009 (residential) and has just adopted legislation jumping to IECC 2021 / IRC 2021, and commits to automatic upgrades with each 3-year code cycle.  This means we join CA, OR, WA, MA, and VT--... Read more

My firm recieved an invitation to this event in March. Wondering if anyone has any insight on Metropolis Mag events or if anyone here plans to attend. Looking forward to connecting! 

It’s Summer Summit season! One of the “good problem to have” challenges we’ve had at recent SDL Summits has been too many great five-minute presentations. It’s hard to find time for them all. This year, since we’ll be online anyway, we can get a jump on that by starting the five-minute presentations early. Plus, we can share them across all the... Read more

Returning to work: for many, it’s unthinkable without some kind of reassurance that leadership and the facilities team have taken all possible precautions. Lots of organizations are weighing in on what we should pay attention to, but how do we know if it’s working?

The free Re-entry program from Arc is a tracking and measurement... Read more

At the summit we discussed sharing which consultants our firms have used for anti-bias training and EDI education. My office will participate in the upcoming AIA Seattle pilot Intercultural Leadership Program, but that only includes two of our firm leaders. If anyone can refer a consultant in the Seattle region for all-office trainings, I'd... Read more

Anyone know of tools/methodologies for estimating embodied carbon and carbon sequestration potential of individual green infrastructure projects (e.g. bioswale along bikeway)? I've seen tools for the larger scale (e.g. land use change) as well as specific to trees (e.g. i-Tree), but these don't fully meet my needs.

Thanks!

If you work on projects in Massachusetts, you are probably working under the updated MA Stretch Energy Code. While this code is doing great things pushing for electrification and very efficient buildings, it can still be tricky to implement or adjust your processes to the calculations even for seasoned pros. AIA MA in conjunction with BE+ has... Read more

I'm definitely slow on the draw here, but happy to be congratulating you, Allen! What a great recognition of your work as a firm! And I love that the story about it highlights the firm's diversity.

Also worth noting--just 'cause no one here has said it yet--how cool it is that Ed Mazria won the Gold Medal this, and that AIA updated it's... Read more

Hi SDL: Check out this great interview with Paul Hawken and  COTE members Gunnar Hubbard and Kira Gould. Lots of inspirational ideas about the importance of the built environment in carbon drawdown: 

Here's that link---

https://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/aia-cote-in-conversation-with-paul-hawken_o

thanks.

... Read more

The Sustainable Design Leaders network and Summit events started over 10 years ago, when a group of sustainable designers realized that the struggles they faced and the goals they strove toward were shared by many... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of New Concepts in LEED v4.

Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:


1. Recognize the ways in which the Integrative Process credit requires teams to analyze opportunities early in design.
2. Describe how the new Location and Transportation... Read more

Hi all,

BG WebDev needs to clarify the Forum comment moderation rules you would like us to put in place.  We do not require moderation for premium users in our LEEDuser forum unless they include a link in their submitted topic or comment. In this case, we hold the publication of the comment in moderation until we can make sure the link... Read more

We are coordinating an effort to produce a "Building Reuse Practice Guide for Climate Action" for the AIA.  This is intended as a resource for architects working on major renovations and adaptive reuse, with a focus on reducing energy use, lower embodied carbon, electrification, and adapting to a changing climate. We are looking for around 5... Read more